Macon Mayhem 2017-18 Season Preview

About

The Gang’s All Here! Originally in the outhouse, we took the keys to the penthouse and we’re keeping ’em. MaconMayhem.com

Head Coach: Kevin Kerr (3rd season, 61-40-11) was named SPHL Coach of the Year last season after leading the Mayhem to their first regular-season championship.

Captain: The Mayhem will announce their third captain in as many years. Daniel Gentzler and Dennis Sicard are the likely favorites to succeed the retired Matt Summers.

Last Season: The Mayhem led the league last season with a 37-13-6 record. In the postseason the Mayhem swept the Peoria Rivermen in two games to take the Presidents Cup.

Overview

Barely a playoff qualifier last season, the Mayhem established early dominance with a franchise record ten-game winning streak which spanned the entire month of November. 2015-16 MVP goalie Garrett Bartus (remember him?) took a call-up to the ECHL Fort Wayne Komets and wound up becoming their starting netminder (Thanks, Cincinnati). Jordan Ruby then took over the Mayhem crease and became one of the league’s elite netminders. In the offensive zone, Macon featured the league’s deepest scoring roster with ten players scoring ten or more goals, with Jake Trask leading the team with 21 tallies. In the postseason, the Mayhem were almost upset by the eighth-seeded Columbus Cottonmouths and the sensational goaltending of Mavric Parks. Macon came back from a 1-0 game one loss by winning in a 1-0 game two overtime thriller on Collin MacDonald‘s game-winner and found their scoring in a 6-3 game three series clincher. After dispatching Pensacola in the semifinals, the Mayhem defeated the Peoria Rivermen in a pair of 2-1 victories. Ruby took playoff MVP honors, going 6-1 with a shutout, a 1.38 GAA and a .957 SV%.

Trending Topics

#TheGangsAllHere – The Mayhem have 14 returning players from last season.

#WhosInNet – With Ruby playing in France and heir apparent Troy Passingham already with the ECHL Atlanta Gladiators on a call-up, rookies Tomas Scholl (Bowling Green) and Charlie Finn (Colgate) will have some huge pads to fill.

#OnTheAir – The Mayhem become the first SPHL team to air a portion of their regular season schedule on The Sin Bin mobile app.

Insights

Last season, the Mayhem had the league’s top record on the road with a 19-7-2 mark.

Sicard is the SPHL’s all-time leader in penalty minutes and earned a league-leading 202 last year.

Defenseman Daniel Echeverri is the first Colombian-born player in SPHL history.

Following

Dylan Denomme (F) – The rookie from the University of Windsor (ON) scored 24 points (6G/18A) last season. Denomme earned high marks from assistant coach Leo Thomas in training camp.

John Gustafsson (F) – Left unprotected by the Pensacola Ice Flyers in the offseason, Gustafsson (11-12-23 last season) was a priority acquisition by Kerr.

Vinny Muto (D) – A rookie from Niagara (NY) University, Muto earns the distinction of being the lone newcomer to the Mayhem blue line.

Blocked and Reported

Matt Summers (F) – After a ten-year professional career in the old Central Hockey League and SPHL, Summers lifted the Presidents Cup and skated off into the sunset.

Jordan Ruby (G) – The postseason MVP is living the good life in Brest, France, playing pro hockey with other SPHL ex-pats Adam Stuart, Christian Weidauer, and Kyle Shapiro.

Collin MacDonald (F) – Like Summers, MacDonald hung up the skates after the season.

@SinBinSwami tweeted…

The Swami is contractually obligated to keep his mouth shut, so I’ll let the Mayhem do the talking all the way to the playoffs.